Hydraulic disruption of solids



1940' w. F. COURT I HYDRAULIC DISRUP'lI-ON 0F somns Filed June 14, 19382 Sheets-Sheet l lnvenforzwilliam F erick Cour? F Z 5g his ArrornegPatented Oct. 15, 1940 1 William Frederick Court, Webster Groves, 110.,as-

signor to Shell Development Company, San Francisco, Calif., acorporation of Delaware Application June 14, 1938, Serial No. 213,607

2 5 Claims.

This invention relates to the hydraulic disruption of solid masses bymeans of water jets which are directed substantially radially outwardlyfrom a well in the mass, and is particu- 5 larly concerned with animproved nozzle head which is suitable for that purpose. Such a nozzlehead is useful in the removal of solids, like coke,

from vessels, but may be employed for other purposes.

In my copending application, Serial No. 191,685,

filed February 21, 1938, of which this is a continuation-in-part, I havedescribed particularly a process for cleaning vessels which containsolids, like carbonaceous material, particularly deposits of cokeproduced by the carbonization of hydrocarbon oils, such as reaction andcoking chambers employed in petroleum cracking plants and the like, andasphaltic material, especially the solid, brittle kind, by means ofwater jets. Ac-

cording to one embodiment of the process the body of material to beremoved, such as coke in a vertical cylindrical coking chamber, is actedupon in three operations:

In the first step, after opening the top and bottom manholes and coolingthe coke by means of steam followed by water, the body of coke iscannulated vertically, either by drilling or by means of a vertically,preferably downwardly, directed jet of water, such as, for example, ajet discharged from a spear nozzle with a or one inch diameter orifice,supported by and supplied through a vertical water feed pipe, anddischarging water at between 400 and 750 gallons per minute. When wateris used, the fine particles of coke displaced are diffused into the bodyof the coke bed, and the water drains through the coke, dischargingthrough the lower manhole. In this step a vertical hole from one toseveral inches in diameter is formed through the coke bed at the 40 axisof the chamber. The purpose of this step is to provide a tubular openingor well to permit a water feed pipe, which is suspended and suppliedwith water at its upper end, and supports the nozzle head employed inthe subsequent steps, to be lowered through the body of the coke.

In the second step the opening is reamed to lncrease the size of theinitial opening to about 18 to 24 inches in diameter so that the nozzlehead employed in the last step may be used without fouling the coke bed.For this purpose the water feed pipe, which after the jetting in thefirst step is suspended within the coke bed, is lowered to extendthrough the lower manhole, and a. reaming nozzle head is attached to thelower end in place oi the spear nozzle. The assembly is then raisedgradually or step-wise with the water pressure turned on. The reamingnozzle head comprises a rotor, rotatable about the axis of the waterfeed pipe and is a relatively small radial dimension, having about twiceto three times the diameter 5 of the initial hole. It is provided with aplurality of reaction nozzles, which impart a relatively high rotaryspeed, such as about 1000 revolutions per minute to the head, and with ascraper on top. The nozzles discharge jets of water tending up- 10wardly which cut an enlarged well into the solid material. The secondstep is completed when the nozzle head has reached the top of the cokebed. Coke which is cut away or loosened by the' nozzle head drops downthrough the opening into 16 dump cars located beneath the coke chamber,and water is collected by means of a pair of inclined aprons, whichdirect it into a trough, from which it flows into a settling basin, forrecirculation through the water feed pipe. 20

In the third step (which may be begun befor the completion of the secondstep), the main body of the coke is disrupted and completely removedfrom the chamber. The water feed pipe is again lowered to extend beneaththe coking 25 chamber, the reaming nozzle head is disconheated, and themain nozzle head is attached in its stead. Alternatively, the mainnozzle head may be coupled beneath the reaming nozzle head.

The main nozzle head is nonrotatably connected to the water feed pipe,and is provided with a plurality of upwardly and. with a plurality ofdownwardly directed nozzles which direct jets of water radiallyoutwardly to disrupt and completely remove the coke from the chamberwhen 35 the water supply is turned on and the nozzle head 1 is raisedinto the enlarged well. Some of the nozzles on the main nozzle head arearrangedto impart a rotary motion to the nozzle head, whereby thenozzles assume a plurality of successive 40 orientations, the rate ofrotation being usually regulated by means of a brake operating on thewater vfeed pipe so as not to exceed 2 to 4 revolutions per minute. Ifdesired, the rotation may be effected by applying an external rotatingforce on 1 the feed pipe, it being in this case unnecessary to arrangethe cutting nozzles to impart a turning moment to the nozzle head.

An object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle head which maybe employed to efiect simultaneously the first and second steps of theprocess as outlined above. While the nozzle head described in thepresent application is particularly adapted for the removal ofcarbonaceous material by the process 01' the said parent application, itmay be employed for any operation in which it is desired to form anopening through a mass of solid material, either continuous or packed,and irrespective of whether the operation results in the completeremoval of solid material from the container. Thus, in the case ofcontainers of relatively small diameters, a single passage of the nozzlehead according to the present invention may completely remove thesolids; when containers of greater diameters are encountered, a tubularopening is cut therethrough. A further object of the invention is toprovide a nozzle head which will cut a hole of a relatively smalldiameter through a body of solid material,

' by the action of a mechanical cutting tool, either alone, or aided byan axial jet, and which will enlarge the hole by the cutting action ofwater jets.

While it is preferred, for purposes of convenience in connectionparticularly with the cleaning of coke chambers, and to simplify themechanical arrangement for guiding and supporting the water feed pipe,to move the nozzle head down- Wardly in the position shown in thedrawings, it should be noted that it is possible to invert it and moveit upwardly, or in any other desired direction, depending upon thematerial being worked upon or the shape of the container. Forconvenience, the notations above and below, etc., have been usedconsistently in this specification and claims to describe the devicepositioned as shown in the drawings, it being understood that theseterms are relative, and impose no restriction upon the use of the nozzlehead.

With the above and other objects in view, which will become apparentfrom the following detailed description, the invention resides in theconstruction and combination of parts described and claimed herein,considered together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a" vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of thenozzle head;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic vertical sectional view, partly in elevation,illustrating onemethod of using the nozzle head;

Figure 4 is an elevation view, partly in section, of the lower rotatingportion of a modified form of the nozzle head;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view of the edge of the cutting platetaken on line 6-6 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7' is a longitudinal sectional view of a nozzle suitable for thedevices shown in Figures 1 to 4.

Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, a supporting pipe I is provided withexternal drill pipe threads at its upper end, adapted for connectionwith a vertical water feed pipe 2 (see Figure 3) and with an out-turnedflange 3 at its lower end. A

.pair of ball bearing nests, 4', 5, are mounted on the pipe I with theirinner races in engagement with the exterior of the pipe I, the innerrace of the lower nest 4 resting on the flange 3, and the inner race ofthe upper nest 5 being spaced therefrom by an inner spacing sleeve 6. Athreaded retaining ring I, secured against rotation by a set screw 8,retains the upper inner race in position. An annular head is provided onthe upper face of the retaining ring.

The rotor comprises a housing 9 which may he slid downwardly over thebearing nests and over an outer spacing sleeve I II, which separated theouter races of the bearing nests. The housing is provided with a hole IIfor the introduction of a lubricant, which reaches the bearing nests byway of an annular groove I2 on the outer face of the spacing sleeve IIIand one or more holes I3 passing through the sleeve. A rotating ring I4,which may be mounted on the pipe I prior to the bearing nests, supportsthe outer race of the lower bearing nest 4, being itself supported bythe flange plate I5, which'is secured to the outturned flange I6 of thehousing 9 by means of studs IT. The inner face of the top of the housing9 is chamfered at I8 to receive the annular bead on the retaining ringto prevent the escape of bearing grease. A gasket l9 may be interposedbetween the bottom of the housing 9 and the flange plate [5, sealing therotating ring I4 against the flange plate IS.

The flange plate I5 has a central hole, in which a cup 20, (which may beconstructed of a short piece of seamless pipe closed by a welding head)forming a conduit means in communication with the pipe I is secured, asby welding. The upper edge of the cup ll is provided with an annularbead, fitting into a groove 2I in the lower face of the flange 3. Thering I4 is also chamfered as shown. The construction of the ring and thehead on the cup prevent the flow of water into the bearing nests, andthe escape of hearing grease therefrom. The outer edges of the flange I6 and the flange plate I5 are similarly chamfered, as shown at I511.

Four cutting plates or blades 22 are welded to the lower face of theflange plate I5 and to the cup 20. These plates are approximately in theshape of sectors of a circle, as shown, extending radially beyond theflange plate I5. The outer edges 23 are shaped as cutting edges,bevelled to approximately 15 (see Figures 2 and 6) and are hardened.They may, for example, be made of stellite alloy and ground.

A spear nozzle 24 with a smooth, gradually tapering bore 25 isthreadedly mounted at the bottom of the cup 28, and is shaped to directa substantially confined jet of water downwardly. It is preferably, butnot necessarily, located coaxially with the axes of the pipe I, andpreferably located entirely above the lower edge of the cutting blades,so as to be protected thereby.

Four curved conduits 26 are mounted in communication with the interiorof cup 20, as shown in Figure 2, shaped to supply water to stub nozzles21, mounted in the blades 22, disposed to discharge substantiallyconfined jets of water horizontally, in a direction perpendicular to theface of the blades. These nozzles 21 may be con structed as shown inFigure 7, with a smooth, gradually tapering bore 28. While the nozzles21 have been shown to be mounted to discharge horizontal streams,tangential with respect to the axis of the nozzle head, so as to impartthe maximum turning force to the rotor, some or all of them may beinclined downwardly, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, or even upwardly. Itis desirable to locate the nozzles 21 and conduits 26 wholly within andabove the cup-shaped surface of revolution described by the cuttingedges upon the rotation of the rotor, whereby the nozzles and conduitsare protected against impact with coke.

A plurality of conical tips 29, constructed of heat treated tool steel,and provided'with threaded shanks 30, are mounted on the flange Iii, to

prevent coke which may become loosened and cut'into the outer edge ofthe flange plate l l and the flange I6. These indentations are bevelledat the trailing edges 3Ia so as to permit water to rise through theindentation when the rotor is in operation.

Operation (Figure 3) Although the nozzle head may be used for otherpurposes, its use will be described in connection with the cleaning of acoke or reaction chamber. Referring to Figure 3, 32 represents avertical cylindrical coke chamber of the usual cracking installationwhich may, for example, be 40 feet in height and feet in diameter. 33represents a .body of coke which has been deposited therein. Tocannulate the coke bed and ream the opening (these operationscorresponding to the first two steps of the process described above),after the removal of the top and bottom manhole covers and at leastpartially cooling the coke, the noz zle head is attached to the waterfeed pipe 2, suitably supported from the top, and lowered into thechamber from a point above the coke chamber, full water pressure beingturned on when the nozzles 21 have entered the chamber.

The water discharging from the spear nozzle 24 pierces a hole 34 severalfeet ahead of the cutter blades. The reaction of the water dischargingthrough the nozzles 27 causes the rotor to revolve at a high speed, suchas, 1000 revolutions per minute. The nozzle head is gradually loweredbringing the cutting edges 23 of the cutting plates 22 into engagementwith the coke, whereby they will cut a tubular opening through the coke.At the level of the nozzles 21 this opening will be enlarged as shown at35 by the cutting action of the tangential water jets.

The diameter of the opening formed by the action of the tangential waterjets will usually be from 1 to 2 /2 times the diametric distance betweenthe upper portions of the cutting edges 23. The assembly is graduallylowered until the nozzle head extends through the'bottom manhole 38.During the downward passage of the nozzle head the fine particles ofcoke and the water are diffused through the coke bed, the waterdischarging through the-lower manhole as. The action of the jet from thenozzle 24' provides a substantial area for the seepage of water into thecoke bed in view of the fact that the bottom of the hole 3t will beseveral feet below the cutters 22. If the rate of water flow into thecoke bed below the nozzle head is insuflicient, the excess water andRattimes, coke will flow upwards around the flange plate l5 and through theindentation 3| entering the body of the coke at points above the nozzlehead. At-times small quantities of the disintegrated coke will build upabove the nozzle head but these quantities were found to beinsufiicient'to retard the speed of rotation appreciably and tointerfere with the cutting operation.

In the modifications illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the pipe I, housing9, and the bearing and lubrication arrangements are the same asillustrated in Figure 1. The lowerportion of the rotor comprises theflange plate I5 with indentations 3!, 31a, supporting a cup 20, cuttingplates 22', with cutting edges 23', all as in Figure 1. Instead of aspear nozzle, the modified assembly comprises a star shaped drill 31,provided with a plurality, such as 5, cutting edges. The shank 38 of thedrill is welded to a square plate having a central hole housing theshank II. The plate 39 is secured to the cutting plates 22' by weldingas shown in Figure 5. V

The curved conduits 26' are in communication with the cup 20' and withthe nozzles 21', mounted in the cutting plates 22', the only difierencebetween this construction and that previously described being that theaxes of the nozzles 21' are inclined downwardly at an angle of about 30below the horizontal. This arrangement causes the water jets from thetangential nozzle 21' to cut the hole in advance of the upper portionsof the cutting plates 22", thereby reducing the load placed upon thelatter.

The nozzle head of Figures 4 and 5 may be employed in the mannerdescribed above.

The sizes of the nozzles and rates of discharge may be varied. with thesize of the installation and the particular purpose to be effected. Byway of example, it may be-stated that for cutting a tubular openingthrough a coke chamber of the type and size described above, thediametric distance between the upper outer portions of the cuttingplates'22 or 22' may be 12% inches; the diameter of the orifice of thespear nozzle 24 may be inch; and that of the tangential nozzles 21 and21' may be 1''; inch, although, for the installation described, spearnozzle orifices of from about to inch diameters, and tangential nozzlesof from A to inch diameter may usually be employed. Suflioient waterpressure is applied tothe water feed pipe 2 to cause the total rate ofdischarge to be between about 400 and 900 gallons per minute.

Such rates ofdischarge will cause the water jets to have velocities ofbetween about 100 and 500 feet per second, preferably above 250 feet persecond. It is desirable to employ orifices having smooth bores so thatthe jets will not substantially break up or spread prior to impact,whereby erosion is minimized and cutting of the jet is materiallyincreased.

While I have given particular dimensions suitable for a particularinstallation, it is understood that this invention is not limitedthereto, but

may be employed in connection with other rates of water fiow and sizesof orifices without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

I claim as' my invention:

1. In a nozzle head for cutting into a body of solid material, thecombination of a vertical conduit adapted for connection with a sourceof liquid under pressure, a rotor rotatably mounted on said conduit, oneor more cutters having cutting edges extending beneath the conduit andradially outwards from the axis thereof, reaction nozzle means on saidrotor in flow communication with said conduit arranged to impart aturning motion to said rotor, and a substantially downwardly directedspear nozzle located entirely above the lower edge of the cutter,disposed to cut a well into said solid material beneath said cuttingedge, wherebyv the downwardly directed nozzle is protected by saidcutter.

2. In a nozzle head for cutting into abcdy of solid material, thecombination of a .vertical conduit adapted for connection with a sourceof liquid under pressure, a rotor rotatably mounted on said conduit, aconduit means on said rotor in flow communication with said conduit, 2.plurality of cutting blades on said rotor extending substantiallyradially outwardly and beneath said conduit member having cutting edgesfacing outwardly and downwardly, a plurality of reaction nozzlessupported by said cutting blades, arranged to impart a turning motion tosaid rotor, means for supplying liquid from said conduit means to saidreaction nozzles, the reaction nozzles and the means for supplyingliquid thereto lying within and above the surface of revolutiondescribed by the cutting edges upon the rotation of the rotor, and meansfor cutting a well into said 'solid material beneath said cutting edges.

3. In a nozzle head for cutting into a body of solid material, thecombination of a vertical conduit adapted for connection with a source-of liquid under pressure, a rotor rotatably mounted on said conduit, aconduit means on said rotor in flow communication with said conduit, aplurality of cutting blades on said rotor extending substantiallyradially outwardly and beneath said conduit member having cutting edgesfacing outwardly and downwardly, a plurality of reaction nozzlessupported by said cutting blades, arranged to impart a turning motion tosaid rotor, means for supplying liquid from said conduit means to saidreaction nozzles, and a substantially downwardly directed spear nozzlein communication with said conduit means arranged to cut a well intosaid solid material beneath said cutting edge, said reaction nozzles,said means for supplying liquid thereto, and said spear nozzle all lyingwithin and above the surface of revolution described by the cuttingedges upon the rotation of the rotor.

solid material, the combination of a vertical conduit means adapted forconnection with a source of liquid under pressure, a rotor rotatablymounted on said conduit, a plurality of cutting blades on said rotorextending beneath the conduit and substantially radially outwards fromthe axis thereof, a plurality of reaction nozzles supported by saidcutting blades and means for supplying liquid from said conduit means tosaid reaction nozzles.

5. In a nozzle head for cutting into a body of solid material, thecombination of a vertical conduit adapted for connection with a sourceof liquid under pressure, a rotor rotatably mounted on said conduit, a.plurality of cutting blades on said rotor extending beneath the conduitand substantially radially outwards from the axis thereof, a pluralityof reaction nozzles supported by said cutting blades and arranged anddisposed to discharge liquid jets substantially outwardly anddownwardly, means for supplying liquid from said conduit means to saidreaction nozzles and means for cutting a well into said solid materialbeneath said cutting blades.

WILLIAM FREDERICK COURT.

